Johnny Manziel Signed Football Fetches 2.5 Times More Than Eli Manning Ball At Auction

On Friday, I, along with three others from the office, attended a fundraising golf tournament in the name of a friend of mine that was injured in a car accident in December. It was a scramble format. We finished seven under par. That sounds respectable as long as I leave out the winning score, which was an absurd 19 under. Damn showoffs. We took a beating, but in our defense there were some outstanding golfers in attendance, plus the corporate credit card came out when the cart girl pulled up on the second hole. The tab stayed running until 18, so there’s that.

Following golf, we all went to a nearby restaurant where a silent auction was held — the money earned was given to the cause. Two items available for auction were signed footballs by quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Eli Manning.

Last season, Johnny Manziel took home just about every piece of individual hardware an offensive player was eligible for, including the most coveted of all — the Heisman Trophy (let’s be honest, defensive guys aren’t eligible). From his years at Ole Miss, Eli Manning piled up many of the same awards that Manziel owns, minus the Stiff Arm. Although Manning never took home the Heisman, he was drafted #1 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft and has a couple Superbowl trophies on his résumé.

Manning is easily one of the most accomplished quarterbacks currently in the NFL, yet Manziel’s signed ball sold for more than Manning’s.

How much more? Two and a half times more.

Johnny Manziel – $450Eli Manning – $180

Of course, we’re in Texas, and many of the attendees were Aggies, but it’s still a testament to how highly Manziel stock is trading for right now.

Now, the bid sheets had a “buy it now” option for the more serious suitors that wanted to bypass the bidding process and outright purchase the items. The “buy it now” price for Eli’s ball was $350. For Johnny, $450.

Manziel’s ball was sitting at a healthy $200 with about 30 minutes until the closing of the auction, a price I originally predicted would be a winnable final bid.

That’s when someone came and scribbled his name on the $450 “buy it now” line, and just like that he was the owner of a signed Manziel pigskin. The winner was TFM co-founder Ryan Young — a loose and conversational Ryan Young. And who’d he come over the top of with his 450-dollar knockout blow? Well, Ryan Young. He outbid himself.

He’s not even an Aggie.

P.S. A huge thanks to Johnny for meeting up with me to sign the ball. As I note in my tweet, he was a hell of a nice guy.

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Dillon Cheverere (@DCheverere) is the Vice President of Media for Grandex, Inc. He's a native Texan with a full head of hair and knows his way around a nice box of red wine. Dorn graduated (BBA) with a GPA sitting in the meaty part of the bell curve, not lagging behind, but not trying to show off, either. Golf is his game now. He's long off the tee but can't putt for shit. Email: dillon@grandex.co